El Yunque - National Forest

Today's adventure was to visit Puerto Rico's national forest, El Yunque.  There is so much to see!  We only scratched the surface and were limited to what we could do with a 2 year old but oh my goodness, what an amazing place!

We got the day off to a great start with a family picture at the visitor center.  Thank you so much to the kind couple who offered to take this for me.  So glad we did!

After we watched the introductory movie and hit the gift shop... (Emily needed a hiking hat).  We were off!  Well actually, we needed a picnic spot to eat lunch so we headed up the mountain.  We were rewarded with views right away!

We stopped at the Sierra Palm Food Concession and Picnic Area.  We had packed our own lunch so we walked down the path and found a whole bunch of these little covered picnic areas.

Each one had a fireplace inside!  Can you imagine?  It was perfect.  We had a great lunch here.

And then on to a short easy hike.  The Baño de Oro trail "Gold Bath" was about a quarter mile with gentle elevation gain.  We did not have a jogging stroller so we didn't make it far before we had to ditch the stroller and let Isaac walk.

What an adventurer he turned out to be!

And what an awesome forest trail!

Yes, it was slow going... But we got there.  (Well, some of us did...)

Here is the resting bench where Isaac quit the trail.  He looks happy with himself, doesn't he?

So we hung out here while Chris and David finished the trail.  We had fun waiting.  :-)

Then we all walked back together,  Isaac got carried out.  It sure is good to be two.

Next stop was the Yokahu tower.  You can climb all the way to the top!  So fun!

(not sure what David is doing here)

Views from the top:

Wow!!!

Hanging out at the top.  :-) Isaac scored Emily's new hat.

There is just something about the views framed by these open windows!

And last stop was the La Coca Falls.  We all wanted our pictures taken here.

When Isaac is older, we want to come back and do a more difficult hike up to Mt. Britton tower...  Lots of reasons to come back!

Aquatika!

We got to check out the beach access from our condo this morning.  Yes, it's pretty darn awesome!

Isaac not too sure about the ocean and the sand.  He stuck to his stroller.  I'm hoping he'll warm up to it as the trip goes on.  Our shady spot under the palms was not a bad place to be!

El Morro - Exploring forts is awesome!

After settling in and checking out the pool and beach access at our condo, we decided to head into San Juan to explore one of the forts.

The views were incredible!  

Outside of the fort.  

Have I mentioned that exploring forts is awesome?

David gets photo credits.  He got his new buddy in this picture too.  (Look closely on the wall)

Hello, Mr. Iguana!

So cool!  There were 2 of these guys roaming the ramparts.

Love this photo op.

Yes, exploring forts is awesome.  Even for almost 2 year old boys!

This was a Lia sized tunnel.

Pretty smiles for me.  

Isaac climbed all these stairs!  And said, "Boom!" every time we came across a cannon.  Boy genes in place?  Check.

Even David smiled for me.  But only this one time.  ;-)

Lots of grass... And a little steep down the hill!

More gorgeous views!

Spring Break 2016 - Puerto Rico bound

We decided to be a little spontaneous around Christmas and booked a spring break vacation to Puerto Rico!  We wanted to go somewhere new and exciting and that didn't require passports (since we don't have any for the kids).

And so... We're off!

Isaac is looking awfully cute and little in his seat next to me.  Now that we are six, we take up a whole row on the airplane!

Just killing time before takeoff.

My travel companion.  Yes, she read the 3.5 hours we were in the air.

This little guy stayed busy too.  He even took a nap at some point.  He arranged the palm of my hand for his pillow and then guided my other hand to cover his exposed ear.  Smart kid!

And we all started to get super excited when we saw this out the window!

No delays getting to St. Juan.  And no waiting for our rental minivan at Alamo.  The other rental place (Budget) had super long lines with more than an hour wait!  Thank you guardian angel!

We are at El Verde BBQ, a local favorite, no frills, point and order at the counter place.  We were starving and it was delicious.

We got chicken, pork ribs, my favorite white fleshed sweet potato, plantains (not in the picture) a pina colada, some soda and a beer for about $30!  Now that's a bargain for a family of 6!

And finally we got our grocery shopping done at a place called Ralph's.  Chris was super excited to find local papaya.  :-)

Our condo is super nice and we are excited to explore the island.  More later.

Our Lenten Centerpiece

This is our first Lenten season to make a salt dough crown of thorns.  Our first batch of dough, due to over excited water addition, had too much water and was too sticky to do anything with... But our 2nd attempt yielded a stiffer batch of dough and we were able to braid a crown with it.  It was not easy though!

Isaac was able to stick in the toothpicks. He always wants to be a part of what we are doing and this activity was perfect for him.  The toothpicks, or thorns in the crown, are our sins.  They cause Jesus pain, but we can console Him, or take away a little of His pain by doing good deeds.

The idea is that the kids will do good deeds throughout Lent and remove those thorns in time for Easter.  

Emily and Lia designed our Lenten placemat, we added a candle and voila:  a beautiful Lenten centerpiece!

Happy 8th Birthday, Lia!

Eight is great!  Lia wanted a red velvet cake this year with vanilla icing and she took charge in the kitchen.

We're not sure how you ice a cake and keep the frosting white... But we all rather like this marbled effect.  :-)

Three of Lia's sweet girl friends were able to meet us at the park to play.  It was sunny and beautiful, but a little cool.  While the parents were a tad uncomfortable, the girls seemed too busy having fun to mind.

Add in your grandparents and your siblings, and you have quite a party!

Lia's Godparents sent her this adorable scarf that actually has a warming pad inside.  Decadent?  Yes.  She is spoiled!  Thank you Stacey and Steven!

And here are the little bobble headed dogs she painted and decorated from Nana and Grandpa.  Aren't they sweet?

Meet Bride Dog, Ballerina Dog, and Flapper Dog.  :-)

Happy Birthday Lia!  We love you!